DETAILS: If you’ve been looking for ways to commit to a regular yoga practice, take VIDA’s Yoga Boot Camp Challenge and bring your practice to a new level. The challenge includes weekly 75-minute classes, 2-hour dedicated weekend workshops, and a special closing celebration.

DETAILS: Achieve your maximum potential using a variety of functional equipment in combination with the TRX straps. TRX training not only burns calories, it increases the RATE at which your body burns calories. We provide a fast-paced circuit of compound and functional exercises targeting all major muscle groups. Our goal is to improve your overall strength, balance, core, and cardiovascular fitness.

DETAILS: Look and feel your best as the holiday season arrives! In this jumpstart program, participants will hit the gym every day for up to an hour and enjoy a specially formulated smoothie from our Fuel Bar, depending on the workout that day. Program exercises will include cardio, resistance training, guided stretching, and core work. We’ll review the nutrition component of the program on the first day before our workout. These guidelines will explain what NOT to eat during your week-long cleanse, all while establishing accountability in a group setting.

DETAILS: Develop and understand the fundamentals of footwork, head movement, punching, blocking, and evading. All levels are welcome as we’ll provide you with plenty of progressions. You’ll learn how to throw perfect jabs, hooks, uppercuts, and power punches; all during an awesome workout designed to get you fit fast. Training equipment will consist of focus mitts, heavy bag, speed bag, jump rope, and bodyweight exercises.

DETAILS: ATB will get your heart rate up with cardio conditioning while building strength & muscle tone. We’ll take you through specialized core exercises, pilates, and barre fitness modalities to cultivate stability and proper alignment in the hips, pelvis, abdominals and lower back. All fitness levels are encouraged to attend, though participants should be at least 6 weeks post-partum.

DETAILS: Enjoy a full-body workout with the Pilates Reformer. Improve your overall muscle tone, strength, and posture. Precise movements emphasize abdominal and lower back development to enhance strength, muscular symmetry, alignment, and flexibility. A series of weighted springs adds resistance, while the pulley system provides a gentle, lengthening of muscles.

DETAILS: Learn how to properly use the Concept2 rowing machines in this team-oriented circuit-training class. This class unites the best of many fitness worlds. We’ll work together to row the group to the finish line through high intensity intervals, Tabata-style. Work through circuits comprised of compound movements to condition and strengthen efficiently, then find your cardiovascular edge in anaerobic rowing intervals.

DETAILS: Learn the art of Self-Defense training in precise and situational scenarios. Defend yourself and your family on foot and off your back (ground fighting). This class will boost your confidence, eliminate fear, get you in shape, and tone your entire body. Have fun in a group setting, meet new friends, and push yourself to meet new challenges.

So let’s say that you’re a normal person and have taken a break from your exercise routine and diet over the holidays. You’ve consumed mass quantities of cookies; or you’ve substituted your regular run for family and friend events; or long days of travel or gift-shopping have left you too exhausted to work out. This happens to anyone, and is the reason why “losing weight” is the most popular New Years resolution in America. VIDA Fitness has 5 great locations where you can get Personal Training, Group Fitness Classes, and top of the line equipment to help you make 2014 fitness goals come true.

Unfortunately, only 8% of people who make new years resolutions actually stick to them. There is a tempting tendency to be ambitious and set too many goals for the New Year, which inevitably leads to accomplishing none of them. That’s why we’ve created a list to help you make a resolution that is achievable and makes a positive change to your life in 2014.

Pick a theme. It can be easy to want to improve many sectors of life, from money to family to work to your home. But start with one thing you want to focus on. If that’s fitness, then keep reading!

Know yourself. If you’ve struggled in the past with waking up in the morning, then don’t make a resolution to exercise before work. If you thrive on routines, then come up with a time that could work for you to exercise consistently. Similarly, if you know your schedule is unpredictable, don’t set a specific time to work out, but instead make it a goal to exercise whenever an opportune moment presents itself.

Make specific goals. Saying “I want to get in shape” is not specific. “By April 1, I want to be able to run four miles in forty minutes” is.

Along a similar vein, think incrementally. Start small and work your way to getting a little stronger every week. Consistency and patience is key here. If you know you’re an impatient person, perhaps “be patient” could be a related goal under your fitness theme.

Don’t be afraid to make adjustments. It’s not failure if you’re way off track come February 1. Recognizing that something isn’t working is a positive thing, and can prompt effective steps toward change.

Pair up with a friend or loved one. You probably know someone who also wants to get in shape in 2014, so ask them to join you once a week. You’ll have more fun – and are less likely to skip your workouts.

Join a class. Just being with an instructor for an hour or an hour and a half will guarantee that you get a good workout. VIDA Fitness has a slew of Exclusive Classes as well as everyday classes for your fitness needs.

Sign up for a race or equivalent event in the spring to have something to work toward during the cold season. But again, be realistic with your choice on an event. If you’ve never run a 5K race then don’t sign up for a half marathon.

Don’t forget about food. Fitness is a two-way street of exercise and eating right, and though it can be hard to adjust your exercise routine and eating habits simultaneously, you can start making adjustments as soon as January 1 with simple replacements in your refrigerator (think: fat-free yoghurt instead of ice cream, sugar snap peas instead of chips, etc). Fortunately, studies have shown that exercise can control appetite and cravings, so starting predominately with exercise will get you on the right track.

Finally, remember that a resolution is supposed to enhance your life and make you happier, not add a chore to your already-busy schedule. Discard goals that make you feel bad about yourself or stressed out. You should find your resolution to be fun, or eventually be fun – even if it takes some hard work and strategizing in the beginning.

Wanna try VIDA for 3 Months FREE! Or already a member and want 3 months of FREE membership.

Take out that sweater you only wear once a year and it could be yours. Take a picture on Twitter or Instagram & tag #vidafitnessdc or #vidaugly and win. If you are running in The Ugly Sweater Run this upcoming weekend it’s a great chance to get that picture.

We grow up learning that Friday the 13th is “unlucky” – but why is this day, as opposed to Tuesday the 13th (unlucky in Greek and Spanish-speaking countries) or Friday the 17th (feared in Italy), the infamous day for us?

It’s not as random as it may seem. Like many traditions, the unlucky date goes back to the days of the Garden of Eden. It was on Friday that Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit; and further, on a Friday when the Great Flood began; when the Temple of Solomon was destroyed; when Christ invited 13 guests to the last supper, and Judas – the thirteenth guest – betrayed him; and of course, it was on Friday when Jesus Christ was crucified. In Norse mythology, 12 benevolent gods gathered in a hall when the evil god Loki attacked the group and killed one of them. Loki was the 13th guest. And somewhat more recently – in the late-nineteenth century – the US perpetuated Friday as an unlucky day by holding all executions on the day.